Broken Families
by SamJam
Summary: Set 3 years after "The Last One" and featuring all of the main cast. Ross and Rachel are about to get married, and everyones lives are falling together nicely, when one tragic mistake forces the Friends worlds to crumble apart
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, unfortuately. This story is set 3 years after _"The Last One"_ and features all of the primary cast. This is my first ever fanfic and I would really appreciate any reviews/thoughts/advice that you may have. Hope you enjoy! More to follow soon :)**

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><p>Pushing through the doors of the gangs' favourite coffee house, Rachel Green was a minefield of emotions. She was just four weeks away from marrying Ross Gellar, the love of her life, and she still had so much left to do. Phoebe and Monica were sitting on the worn out orange, which had been in the coffee house for as long as Rachel could remember, chatting and drinking coffee. Rachel was overcome with nostalgia at the familiar scene. Sinking into the large comfy armchair, Rachel let out a long and heartfelt sigh.<p>

"Hey Rach, what's up?" Phoebe asked, concerned for her friend. After all, it was four weeks till the wedding; she should be happy and excited.

Rachel just shook her head as an answer to the question, yet she looked to be at the verge of breaking point and on the brink of tears.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Monica asked her best fried and soon to be sister-in-law.

"Everything is such a disaster. There is still so much left to organise, so much left to decide. I'm not sure how I can get it all done in time," she exclaimed.

"Wow. Well what the hell have you been planning for the last thirteen months?" Phoebe asked, half jokingly.

Rachel shot her a look that quickly told her that she wasn't helping.

Monica reached out and took Rachel's hand to comfort her. "Don't worry sweetie. We'll help you get everything sorted out. That's what we are here for.

Rachel smiled meekly in response, adding a "thanks guys."

The Trio then grabbed a cup of coffee to go each and headed out into the warm spring air.

_Later that afternoon_

"Hey Rach, how are things between Ross and Ben now? You know, since you caught him trying to hurt Emma?" Phoebe asked her friend.

"Tense." She replied. Ross still can't believe that his son would do such a thing to his own baby sister. I mean we both understand sibling rivalry, but trying to smother her in her crib?" Rachel tried to shake off the memory of catching her future step son trying to kill his baby sister.

Phoebe nodded empathetically, imagining that it would be difficult to understand why your son would try to kill your daughter.

"Ben is pissed at Ross and Carol and Susan for sending him to military school, but it was either that or Juvenile Detention. What else could they do? Ben still says he was jealous of the fact that Emma's birth parents are back together and she was going to have a 'normal' family. I still don't buy that but to be honest I can't think of any other explanation," Rachel continued.

"Is Ben coming to the wedding?" Monica asked.

"I don't think so. Ross is still in two minds about whether to invite him, but if it was up to me I don't think I'd want him there. Emma has never done anything to hurt Ben, I mean she is only three. It broke my heart when the decision was made to send him away," Rachel mused. She looked upset again, thinking back to the scene that almost destroyed her family. Phoebe saw this and decided to cheer up her friend.

"Rachel, I think I've just found your wedding dress."

Rachel turned to see what eccentric dress Phoebe had found this time, but when she laid eyes on it she was rendered speechless.


	2. Chapter 2

_Four Weeks Later_

Ross and Rachel looked picture perfect together posing for their wedding photographs. Standing together with their three year old daughter Emma, the family looked complete. There was a subtle glow surrounding the newly weds that Judy Gellar couldn't quite determine the cause of.

"They look fabulous together, so happy," Rachel's father Leonard mused as he stood side by side with Judy.

"Don't they just?" she gushed in return. "I really envy their happiness."

"I do too," he admitted quietly. The pair exchanged a fleeting glance that was charged with excitement and chemistry. Ever since Leonard had divorced form Rachel's mother Sandra, he had given up on finding love again. He had been alone for so long, he wasn't sure he would remember what to do if he ever got the opportunity to be with a woman once more.

Judy had also been feeling neglected and ignored over the past ten years. When Monica and Richard were dating, Jack somehow got it into his head that it was acceptable to get his own "little twinkie". Since the birth of Emma three years earlier, Judy and Leonard had been spending a fair deal of time in each others company. Every time they met, the sexual tension between the pair became stronger and stronger. Fleeting glances across unknowing family members, short-lived touches in crowded rooms. It had become clear to the unlikely couple that the desire for one another was reciprocated, and had become too strong for them to ignore any longer.

"We all knew they would end up being 'on again' at some point," Judy commented. Leonard just nodded slowly in response, whilst watching his eldest daughter and granddaughter dancing together.

"So are you staying in the city tonight or heading back out to Long Island?" Judy asked, with a small smile playing on her lips in anticipation of the answer.

Leonard grinned as he could see the direction that the conversation was heading in. "I haven't quite decided yet. I may need some convincing."

Judy blushed and turned away in an attempt to hide her crimson cheeks. "Well, I've booked myself into a spa hotel in the city for tonight, and I'm afraid that I'll be all alone in that large king size bed."

"It sounds to me like you could use some company. Isn't Jack going to be joining you?" Leonard asked, wary of what he might receive as a reply.

"No. I've told him that I need some time away from him. He found out that I know about _Brandy_, and things have gotten very tense at home. Ross and Monica don't know anything about it and that's the way I'd like it to stay, for the moment at least."

It was getting late, and so the lustful couple decided to sneak away to Judy's hotel suite.

"I feel like a teenager again," Judy gushed as the pair hurried into a cab just along the street from the reception venue, where their eldest children had just made their declaration of love for one another to the world.

The couple locked eyes and then within an instant they were in each others arms, clinched in a passionate kiss. All the desire, lust and longing that had built up between the couple over the last three years were being poured into that one kiss. The rest of the world was just a blur of shapes and colours to them as the cab driver knowledgably guided them through the maze like streets of Ney York City. The only thing that pulled the duo out of their loved-up fantasy was the cussing from the driver, and the screeching of tyres on tarmac. And then there was darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hey guys. Really sorry for not uploading in ages, but had so much going on, its been kinda crazy. For those of you who were not too sure where I was maybe heading with this story, this may just be the turning point/cliffhanger that you have all been waiting for :) I really hope you enjoy it either way. Please, read and review!**

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><p>Monica Geller was enjoying a lovely dance with her elder brother on his wedding day. She was so elated with the fact that he and Rachel were finally married (and not accidently through intoxication like last time in Las Vegas). The newly weds and Emma could now be a proper family. There was something about the way the pair looked at each other, deep into one another's eyes, like a silent conversation. Like there was some secret that no one else was aware of. Monica just couldn't figure it out, but she was not all that worried about it, as she knew that her brother and best-friend-now-sister-in-law would tell the rest of the group when they were ready.<p>

"I'm so happy for you Ross," she told him as they spiralled round the dance floor.

"Thanks Mon. I still can't believe I married Rachel. After everything that has happened over the last twelve years, I never thought this day would actually come. But you know what they say, _"Fourth time's the charm!"_" he smiled down to his younger sister.

Monica smiled and let out a small giggle.

"Ross, you know that we are all here for you and Rach? For anything you ever need?"

Ross looked quizzically at his younger sibling. "Yeah, we know that. Where did that come from?"

"I'm just, reminding you," she answered a little vaguely.

The song ended and all the dancers applauded the band. Monica and Ross went to leave the dance floor to grab a drink from the bar. At this point, Chandler walked up to them with three year old Emma and two year old twins Erica and Jack.

"Hey guys, the kids are getting a little tired and restless, so I'm just gonna take them back to the house just now. Maybe put a film on for them in bed to get them to settle down a bit. They have been running a riot all night."

The three adults looked down to the young children, who were looking rather sheepish, trying to smile away any anger or disappointment that they might receive from their parents.

"Thanks man. Listen, it really means a lot to us that you are looking after Emma tonight, we really appreciate it," Ross said as he placed his hand on Chandlers' shoulder.

Chandler smiled widely to his brother-in law and replied. "Hey, don't worry about it man. We're family, remember?"

The trio laughed just as Rachel was sashaying towards the group. "What's so funny?" she asked her family quizzically.

"Nothing sweetie," Ross answered. "Chandler is just about to take the kids back to their place for the night. They are getting a little fussy. You're actually just in time to say goodnight to Emma."

Rachel scooped up her daughter, now giggling wildly, into her arms to receive kisses and cuddles. She then handed her over to Ross to give him the chance to say goodnight to their daughter. Monica was crouched down receiving a double hug from her twins. The children then all linked hands and started to follow Chandler out of the ballroom, and towards the car to go home. Ross, Monica and Rachel looked after them in adoration towards the youngsters.

"They are so adorable together. They get on so well together," Rachel mused. The siblings nodded in agreement.

Monica turned to Ross to ask him a question. "Ross, have you seen mom? I wanted to say goodnight to her, but I've not spotted her in a while."

"No, I haven't seen her in a while either. I was actually going to ask you the same thing." Ross then turned to Rachel, "Hey babe, you haven't seen my mom wandering around recently have you? Monica and I wanted to say goodnight to her before we left."

"No sorry sweetie, I haven't seen her. I've been busy looking for my dad actually. Have you seen him?"

All holding hands, the three toddlers were running through the main foyer of the hotel. As they were fast approaching the main door, chandler had to run to catch up with them before he lost sight of them, calling for them to stop. When he reached them, they were standing just inside the main entrance, still holding hands. Chandler felt a little light headed ad had to rest for a moment, placing a hand o the wall for support. _"Maybe that third glass of champagne was a bad idea…" _he thought to himself.

"Daddy okay?" Erica asked. She looked worried about her father and the way he was acting. Chandler looked down to his frightened little girl who was on the verge of tears. Though through worry or tiredness he wasn't quite sure. He knelt down and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Daddy is fine sweetheart, I promise."

Erica grinned and threw her arms around her fathers' neck in an embrace. She nearly knocked him over in her efforts, and chandler had to steady himself with the wall once again.

"Come on you three, let's get you home and into bed. Chandler stood up and took Jack and Erica's hands in his own, and Erica joined hands with her cousin. They walked out of the hotel and across the parking lot to chandlers waiting car. The children all got strapped in to their car seats, ready for the ride home.

"Okay kids, let's go!" Chandler cheered from the driver's seat. A chorus of cheers was the response from the back seat.

"When mommy be home?" Erica quizzed her father.

"She'll be home in a couple of hours princess. She is staying to help tidy up after the big party. I'm taking you home to put you all to bed because it was way past your bed times," Chandler replied. He manoeuvred the car into the busy Manhattan traffic. Chandler could feel his concentration slipping and his vision beginning to blur slightly. The twins and Emma were chatting away loudly I the back seat. They were getting hyper, and Chandler could tell it was going to be hard to get them all calm enough to get them settled and into bed. He could just see it now. The toddlers would be running around the house, causing a riot. Monica would return home, expecting the kids to be in bed and asleep, and be able to have some passionate alone time with her husband, and find the house to be in turmoil. The freak out was too big for even Chandler to imagine. All of the colours of the passing cars and buildings were beginning to blur together. That couldn't be a good sign. The toddler trio in the back seat were having a heated debate about who was "da bestest," _Dora the Explorer, _or _Popeye._

"Nuh-uh. Dora is da bestest cos, cos she talks in spinich and in normal too!" exclaimed Erica.

"No no, Popeye is da bestest because he is really really strong!" Jack argued back.

Even though Chandler was trying extremely hard to concentrate on his driving, his attention was being pulled more and more so to the quarrel in the rear of the car. He turned around in the drivers' seat, for just a second he told himself, to scold the children.

"Will you please be quiet? I am trying to drive, and you three annoying me is going to make me crash!"

At that very moment, the sound of car horns blaring and tyres screeching, Chandlers' attention was brought back to driving. Just in time to see a flash of yellow. And then, everything went silent. Then, everything went black.


End file.
